Weight lifting has developed into an exacting science in which the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of any particular machine includes the following concepts; the safety of the machine for the user, the machine's ability to isolate the muscles to be worked on, and a standard by which the work done against a machine can be objectively known so as to form a basis for comparison or charting improvement, etc.
To these goals, the art and science of weight lifting equipment has made considerable inroads, but the ability to compare relative performances from one machine to the next are difficult to make simply because each type of machine has its own initialized weight quantum defined by at least the weight of the bar against which the exercise is done. Typically, the minimum weight quantum that is encountered when the machine is set at a 0 weight selection is 40 pounds, and it should be appreciated that for certain exercises and indeed for women or children this initial weight quantum maybe excessive to the extent that this particular machine is beyond their scope.